First '05 rabies case reported

South Carolina health officials on Thursday reported the first confirmed case of rabies in Aiken County this year.

A rabid bat was found Saturday morning in the home of an Aiken couple who live in the Kalmia Hills area, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

The couple awoke Saturday morning and found the bat on their bedroom floor. It was sent to a state laboratory for testing, where it was found positive for the disease.

The couple have received precautionary medical treatment.

In 2004, there were two confirmed cases of rabies in the county and 181 confirmed cases of rabies in animals across the state.

Man turns himself in over timber cutting

A man accused of cutting down 100 acres of timber and stealing it surrendered to authorities Thursday.

Douglas Cheatham, 35, of the 1500 block of Wire Road in Aiken County, is charged with grand larceny of more than $5,000, according to the Aiken County Sheriff's Office.

He is being held at the county detention center.

Coroner's office seeks wreck victim's family

The Aiken County Coroner's Office is trying to reach the family of a man named John Thompson, who died from injuries sustained in car accident March 5.

Mr. Thompson was driving a 1991 Volvo station wagon on Ascauga Lake Road when it collided head-on with another vehicle, Deputy Coroner Jeff Smith said.

He was taken to Medical College of Georgia Hospital, where he died from head injuries March 13.

He was conscious only briefly and identified himself as John Thompson, Mr. Smith said.

He is white, 35 to 50 years old, heavyset, with brown hair and dark eyes.

Anyone with information is asked to call the coroner's office at (803) 642-1740.

Man is charged with vehicular homicide

A Thomson man has been charged with vehicular homicide after a passenger in his pickup was killed during a car accident, officials said Thursday.

Christopher Hugh Humphrey, 23, was charged with vehicular homicide in the first degree, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and failure to maintain lane, said Sgt. Jason Johnson, assistant post commander at the Georgia State Patrol's Thomson post.

The accident happened at about 8 p.m. Wednesday on Wrightsboro Road in Thomson, less than half a mile north of Daniel Place, Sgt. Johnson said.

Mr. Humphrey lost control of his 2002 Toyota Tacoma, which traveled off of the roadway and overturned, ejecting his passenger, Louis Johnson, 21, of Warrenton.

Mr. Johnson died at the scene, Sgt. Johnson said.

Reward offered for robbery information

Authorities said Thursday that a reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest in an armed robbery of a Hephzibah bank.

Sheriff's Investigator Jo Ann Nutter said that the Southern Bank on Ga. Highway 88 is offering the $2,500 reward.

Authorities said the men entered the bank at 12:21 p.m. Friday, one approaching the teller window and the other standing near the door. After obtaining money, the robbers ran away.

Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call the Richmond County Sheriff's Office at 821-1080 or 821-1020.

Information will be handled confidentially.

Marijuana shipment leads to three arrests

The Aiken County Sheriff's Office arrested three men Thursday night after a package of marijuana was shipped to a house in Beech Island.

Gulson Francois, 33, of Palm Beach, Fla., and Jesse J. Watts Jr., 21, of the 600 block of Herndon Dairy Road, Beech Island, were arrested and charged with trafficking marijuana.

Van Saunders Curtis, 24, of the 100 block of Branch Court, North Augusta, was charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession of crack cocaine.

The three men are being held at the Aiken County Detention Center, authorities said.

Aiken authorities received information from the Phoenix Police Department that a package of 13 to 15 pounds of marijuana was being shipped from Arizona to Storm Branch Road. Local authorities worked with UPS to deliver the box and arrest the men, said Lt. Michael Frank of the Aiken County Sheriff's Department.

The Aiken department still has a warrant out for Anthony R. Robinson, of the 2000 block of Storm Branch Road, on a charge of trafficking marijuana.

Man tells police he found his car on fire

A Hephzibah man told Richmond County sheriff's deputies that he found his car on fire early Thursday morning, a police report states.

Jesse Lee Mangrum, 30, told deputies that at 3:35 a.m., while in the 1100 block of Peters Road, he found his 1996 Nissan Altima on fire.

Fire officials told sheriff's deputies that the cause of the fire was undetermined early Thursday morning, the report states.

Augustan says he was robbed at gunpoint

An Augusta man told Richmond County sheriff's deputies that he was robbed early Thursday morning, a police report states.

The 36-year-old man told deputies that at 12:33 a.m., he was robbed at gunpoint while in the 1100 block of Summer Street.

A 1995 Nissan Maxima, a wallet and ATM card were all taken during the robbery.

Two rooms in house are damaged by fire

A fire damaged two rooms in a North Augusta house Thursday morning.

The Belvedere Fire Department responded to the fire at about 9:30 a.m. at a single-story house in the 2000 block of Ascauga Lake Road.

The fire damaged two rooms of the house, but no one was injured in the fire, said Lt. Mark Visco of the Belvedere Fire Department. He said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Sage Mill Fire Department also responded to the fire.